Justin Sammons named Zimbabwe head coach

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has announced Justin Sammons as the head coach of the national team. His appointment comes more than six months after Dave Houghton resigned from the position. Additionally, former Zimbabwe Test and ODI player Dion Ebrahim has been appointed as the assistant coach.

Among the 12 Test-playing nations, Zimbabwe is one, but they failed to qualify for the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, which features 20 teams. In a surprising move during the ongoing tournament, Zimbabwe Cricket has revamped their coaching staff.

In a statement, ZC confirmed that Justin Sammons has been appointed as the head coach of Zimbabwe. Sammons, who has been involved with South African cricket for several years, takes on the new role after working in various capacities in South African domestic cricket and as a batting consultant for the South Africa national team from 2021 to 2023.

Following Houghton's resignation, Walter Chawaguta served as the interim head coach during Zimbabwe's tour of Sri Lanka in January this year. Stuart Matsikenyeri took on a similar role during the tour of Bangladesh in May.

Justin Sammons has previously been part of South Africa's high-performance program and has worked with several domestic teams. Dion Ebrahim, who represented Zimbabwe in 29 Tests and 82 ODIs, began his coaching career in New Zealand and has been associated with the Black Caps. The rest of Zimbabwe's support staff will be appointed in consultation with Sammons.